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In this paper, a dynamic releasing approach is proposed for high-speed biological cell manipulation. A compact parallel mechanism for grasping and releasing microobjects is used to generate controllable vibration to overcome the strong adhesion forces between the end effector and the manipulated object. To reach the required acceleration of the end effector, which is necessary for the detachment of the target object by overcoming adhesion forces, vibration in the end effector is generated by applying sinusoidal voltage to the PZT actuator of the parallel mechanism. For the necessary acceleration, we focus on the possible range of the frequency of the PZT-actuator-induced vibration, while minimizing the amplitude of the vibration (14 nm) to achieve precise positioning. The effect of the air and liquid environments on the required vibration frequency for successful release is investigated. For the first time, release results of microbeads and biological cells are compared. Release of the biological cells with 100 % success rate suggests that the proposed active release method is an appropriate solution for adhered biological cells during the release task.

To assemble microobjects including biological cells quickly and precisely, a fully automated pick-and-place operation is applied. In micromanipulation in liquid, the challenges include strong adhesion forces and high dynamic viscosity. To solve these problems, a reliable manipulation system and special releasing techniques are indispensable. A microhand having dexterous motion is utilized to grasp an object stably, and an automated stage transports the object quickly. To detach the object adhered to one of the end effectors, two releasing methods—local stream and a dynamic releasing—are utilized. A system using vision-based techniques for the recognition of two fingertips and an object, as well automated releasing methods, can increase the manipulation speed to faster than 800 ms/sphere with a 100% success rate (N = 100). To extend this manipulation technique, 2D and 3D assembly that manipulates several objects is attained by compensating the positional error. Finally, we succeed in assembling 80–120 µm of microbeads and spheroids integrated by NIH3T3 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]